Chapter 15 -Rubicon Bridge 101, The Giganang Swarm

They all walked the road with Timothy and Ash in the lead talking and their Pokémon in front of them playing. Timothy and Ash started laughing at Kachu and Pikachu who fell down while trying to jump and grabbed Nina and Nikita.

"Look at them...they look like little kids." noted Misty

"Yeah and on top of that they act like best friend, but they've only known each other for one day." agreed Brock

"It's a path on the right side of the road heading toward T-town when you’re about halfway there." smiled Timothy

"Let's go get him then." urged Ash

"Actually my Eevee is a female and it's alright. I'll go back and get her myself. Y'all just go on ahead and wait for me over at Crystal Beach and I’ll catch up with you all in a flash." smiled Timothy

"Where's that?" asked Ash

"Down Route 2 before you get to Rubicon Bridge there's a path to the right side of the rode that will take you there." smiled Timothy

Kachu jumped onto Timothy's backpack and held on, while Nina and Nikita grabbed onto his shoulder and held on. Timothy took off running and a few seconds later he disappeared down the road leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"He's fast." noted Ash coughing.

"Pika." coughed Pikachu

"Let's go." urged Tanza

They all walked up Route 2 talking along the way until in the distant they saw a large bridge come into view. The bridge sparkled as the sunlight shined off the millions of rubies that were built into the bridge.

"Wow look at that bridge." marveled Ash

"Pika." marveled Pikachu

"Look at how it sparkles’ in the sunlight." marveled Misty

"So that is the famous Rubicon Bridge. They say a man named Rohan Anderson funded the creation of the bridge to connect Route 2 and 3, so that people wouldn't have to take a boat or use their pokémon to get back and forth all the time." Brock read as he look through a book.

"Yea...the total length of the bridge including approaches is 1.7 miles. The length of the suspension span including the main span and side span is 1.2 mile's. The length of the main span portion of the suspended structure or the distance between towers is 4,200 ft and the length of one side span is 1,125 ft making this the largest and the longest bridge in the world." stated Tanza

"That is a beautiful bridge." stated Ash

"That's saying a month full." agreed Misty

"Pika...Ka." nodded Pikachu

"Come on. Here's the path." said Tanza

They followed Tanza to the side of the road and down a path though a bit of foliage.

"I wonder what made Rohan Anderson decided to fund the construction of the bridge?" wondered Brock

"Most people think it was just because he had the money to, some think he wanted to be remembered for something and others think he wanted to create a symbol or something by funding it. Only one person knows for sure." explained Tanza

"Who's that?" asked Misty

"Timothy...he's the only one who use to really use to talk to him because they both use to come to the beach around the same time." explained Tanza

"Well to be honest to a point he doesn't really seem like the very talkative type." remarked Brock

"He's not too bad when you get to know him." retorted Ash

"Chu." nodded Pikachu

"For the mot part he's always been like that...he's just never gotten along with other people and as for that strong weird dangerous atmosphere about him that's always been there to. Though it did it get allot stronger about 6 or 7 years ago I think." said Tanza

Once they stepped out of the foliage they saw that they had stepped onto a large sandy beach which seemed to stretch on for miles.

"This place is beautiful...it would be a good place for a little R&R." noted Misty walking out onto the beach.

"Pika." agreed Pikachu as he jumped off of Ash's shoulder and picked something up out of the sand.

"What did you find Pikachu?" asked Ash

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu and he held up a small red rock.

"Wow look at what Pikachu found." said Ash as he grabbed it and held it up to the sun and it started to sparkle.

"It's a ruby." glared Misty

"This beach is called Crystal Beach...it's called that because of the various kinds of crystal's that you can find on this beach. This is because of the volcano's on the far western and eastern parts of the island connect to magma chambers far under the ground here." explained Tanza

Misty bent down, before moving some of the sand around and found a small buried pile of rubies.

"There so beautiful." marveled Misty

"All of this beach and there's nobody here. Why?" asked Brock

"Well 6 or 7 years ago Timothy lost one of his pokémon here in a fight against a Blood Wake team." explained Tanza

"But how?" asked Ash walking over to Tanza, but he suddenly tripped over something and fell.

"Hay Ash are you ok?" asked Misty as she ran over to help him up.

"Yeah, but whatever I hit my foot on was really hard and it hurt." moaned Ash as Misty

helped him up.

Just then the sand underneath Ash and Misty started to rise up and knocked them both down.

"What's going on? What is that!" shouted Misty

When the sand had completely fallen off of the figure they saw that it was a large blue almost crocodilian like pokémon that stood on its hind legs. It had red saw like spike on its head and three on its tail, but it also had a spike's on its knees and elbows. The pokémon turned around toward Ash and looked at him before roaring at him.

"It's a Giganang and it looks pretty upset!" shouted Brock

"Wow." said Ash as he held up his pokédex at it.

"Giganang the Steel Jaw Pokémon…This pokémon is very ill tempered and in fact some Giganang have gotten so angry that not even its trainer’s can calm it down. But this pokémon is usually very docile and like's to be left alone." said The pokédex

"Gigan." snarled The pokémon looking angrily at Ash.

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu as he jumped in front of Ash trying to calm the pokémon down.

"Gan...Gig!" roared Giganang as a ball of blue fire started to form in front of its mouth.

"Ash, Pikachu move. Get out of there...that's a Dragon Rage!" shouted Brock

Giganang fired the blast at Ash and Pikachu, but they both jumped out of the way just as the blue fire hit the ground. When the blast hit the ground there was an explosion that created a large cloud of dust and when it cleared they saw that the attack left a large hole in the ground.

"That was close." sighed Ash

"Chu." agreed Pikachu

"Gan!" roared Giganang

"Be careful!" shouted Misty

"Don't worry well be fine. This Giganang will be our first training partner and he'll help us get stronger. Isn't that right Pikachu." smiled Ash

"Pi...Ka." nodded Pikachu

"That's Ash...always turning a battle into training." sighed Misty

"That's a good thing to do. The more battle experience you gain, the stronger you and your pokémon get, the stronger you and your pokémon get, the stronger the bond between the trainer and pokémon. That in return is something that can be very valuable to both trainer and pokémon in the long run trust me." assured Tanza

"Yea." nodded Brock

"Ash and Pikachu are the strongest team I know and I think they should be able to finish this no problem." guessed Brock

"Don't be so sure." replied Tanza

"What do mean?" asked Misty

"Don’t forget…when they say that wild Jetix region pokémon are a lot stronger than other pokémon from any other region they seriously mean it" noted Tanza

"How much stronger?" asked Brock

"Well just as a guess...I bet that that one Giganang would be more than a match for the league champion or Sinnoh, Hoenn and Unova." guessed Tanza

"Three league champions...That's not good on Ash's part." panicked Misty

They saw Giganang throw a punch at Pikachu, but Pikachu jumped back and Giganang's fist hit the sand.

"Ok Pikachu let's try Iron Tail!” shouted Ash

"Pika." nodded Pikachu

He started running, jumped in the air and his tail started glowing as he swung it to hit the Giganang, but just as his tail was about to hit Giganang grabbed his tail and slammed him on the ground.

"Are you ok?" asked Ash

"Chu." nodded Pikachu as he struggled to get back to his feet.

Just before he got to his feet Giganang's tail started to glow as it spun around and hit Pikachu sending him flying back in front of Ash.

"Pikachu!" shouted Ash

"That Slam and Iron Tail did a real number on Pikachu. He won't be able to take many more hit's like that." guessed Brock

"That Giganang's brute strength is more than a match for Pikachu, so Ash and Pikachu will have to come up with a plan to defeat that pokémon." said Tanza

"Let's hope they can." said Misty

"Pika." moaned Pikachu as he struggled to get back to his feet again.

"Ok so a straight on attack just won't work. Giganang is just too powerful and he's fast to for such a large pokémon." evaluated Ash while looking at Pikachu

"Chu." said Pikachu as he got back to his feet.

Giganang charged toward Pikachu again and started swing punches at him, but Pikachu started dodging each of his punches. Just then Giganang's fist started to glow and he hit Pikachu slamming him to ground hard.

“Oh no Pikachu! I'm coming!” shouted Ash as he started running toward Pikachu.

The Giganang started creating another ball of blue flame in front of its mouth and fired it at Pikachu.

"Ash!" shouted Misty

Ash dived toward Pikachu just as the attack hit the ground and exploded sending a cloud of sand up into the air.

“Oh no...Ash, Pikachu!" shouted Brock

"Is he ok?" asked Misty as she started out at the cloud of dust.

"Don't worry...their ok." assured Tanza

A few minutes later Ash rose up out from under a pile of sand with Pikachu in his arm unconscious.

"That was close." sighed Ash looking at Pikachu.

"That's a relief." sighed Misty

"He's alright for now, but if we don't help him he won't be soon." replied Tanza as she grabbed a pokéball of her belt.

"She's right I don't think that Giganang is done with Ash and Pikachu yet." said Brock as he grabbed a pokéball off of his belt.

Just then the sand rose up in front of them and revealing them to be five more Giganang.

"Look's like we have company." said Tanza

"We have to hurry to Ash. Let's go Steelix." urged Brock as he threw his pokéball out and his Steelix appeared in front of them.

The Giganang all started to roar and they all started to create a ball of blue fire in front of their mouths.

"Dragon Rage...quick Steelix use Iron Defense!" shouted Brock

Steelix started to glow just as the Giganang's fired their Dragon Rage attacks at Steelix and when the attacks hit, Steelix slide backwards within inches of hitting Tanza, Brock and Misty.

"So Tanza what's the deal with these Giganang. Just how powerful are they?" asked Brock

"Well judging from the distance that their Dragon Rage knocked your Steelix back...I think they’re not anywhere near as strong as the big one Ash is dealing with, but their no push over either." evaluated Tanza

"Is that bad?" asked Misty

"These Giganang's are much smaller than that other one...I wonder why." thought Brock

"We'll seeing as there are five of them and that I have only one of my most powerful pokémon with me...the odds are stacked against us. Ash might be in trouble not to mention we might be in trouble." smirked Tanza

"Well we have to try. Starmie lets go!" shouted Misty as she threw her pokéball out and her Starmie appeared in front of Steelix.

"Alright Haunter let's try to get to Ash!” shouted Tanza as she threw her pokéball out and Haunter appeared beside Starmie.

"Here we go on the offense...Steelix use Dragon Breath!" shouted Brock

Steelix shot a stream of blue fire at the Giganang, but just as it was about to hit one of the Giganang stepped forward and an orb of white energy surrounded the Giganang. The attack hit the white sphere and the attack was ineffective.

"That was Protect." noted Brock

Just then two of the Giganang stepped forward and fired another Dragon Rage attack at Steelix knocking him clear over Tanza, Misty and Brock.

"Oh no Steelix!" yelled Brock as he ran up to Steelix.

"Quick Starmie use Hydro Pump!" shouted Misty

Starmie fired a stream of water at the Giganang's, but just before it hit on of one of the Giganang stepped forward and fired a Dragon Rage attack that collided with Starmie's attack. The Giganang's attack quickly overpowered Starmie's attack and when the Dragon Rage attack hit, Starmie was sent it flying back into Steelix.

"Starmie!" yelled Misty as she ran up to her pokémon.

"I guess we're on our own." smirked Tanza

"Hun." nodded Haunter

"Just hold on Ash and Pikachu." muttered Tanza as she looked at Ash dodge another one of the larger Giganang's Dragon Rage attacks.

"Haunter use Dark Burst!" shouted Tanza

All of a sudden Haunter started to create a ball of purple energy in front of him that started to grow larger. Three of the Giganang's stepped forward an all of a sudden they started to create a ball of white energy in front of them.

"That's Hyper Beam!" shouted Brock

"Now fire!" shouted Tanza

Haunter threw the attack at the Giganang's and at the same time the three Giganang's fired their attacks. The attack's collided and swirled together before causing a large explosion and created a large cloud of smoke.

"Damn it....they canceled it out. That attack would've worked if there weren't so many of them. There has to be a better way to go about this." thought Tanza to herself

"Hun." said Haunter

Just then Ash came running from around the five Giganang's as he dodged another one of the Giganang's Dragon Rage attacks which exploded behind him when it hit the ground..

"Hay Ash are you ok?" asked Tanza

"Yea just a little out of breath." huffed Ash

"How about Pikachu?" asked Misty as she walked up to them.

"He's unconscious right now. I have to get him to a Pokémon Center." replied Ash

"First we have to get out of here." reminded Tanza

Just then the larger Giganang stepped in front of the five smaller Giganang and roared as he started to create a ball of blue fire.

"Haunter quick use Dark Burst again!” shouted Tanza

Haunter quickly created a large ball of purple energy as the Giganang fired a stream of blue fire at him. The two attacks collided an swirled together and exploding, but the force of the attack sent Haunter flying back in front of Tanza.

"Ok that's not good. Those five were bad enough, but this one is just too powerful. Haunter can you still fight?" asked Tanza

"Ter." nodded Haunter as he got back up.

"Hay Ash call out one of your fire-type pokémon." requested Tanza

"Why?" asked Ash

"While Giganang's are Dragon-type pokémon, they are also steel-type pokémon...." explained Tanza

"Yea so hopefully if we can make a powerful combination attack that can knock him out. So let's give it a try...I’ll start us off. Just follow my lead with the attack's you think work's best." ordered Tanza

"Ok." nodded Ash

"Haunter use Shadow Ball!” shouted Tanza

"Alright let's go Infernape use Flamethrower!” shouted Ash

Haunter created a ball of black energy and threw it just as Infernape fired his flamethrower at the it. The stream of fire then wrapped around the black sphere of energy creating a large flaming ball of black energy.

"Alright they created a combination attack on their first try!" shouted Misty

The flaming ball of energy headed straight for the Giganang, but just as the attack was about to hit the Giganang raised up its arm and knocked the attack into the ground.

"Uh oh...that's not good." said Tanza

"Let me give it a try." requested Ash

"Alright." nodded Tanza

"Alright use another Dark Burst and then throw it. Then I want you Infernape to combine it with Flare Blitz." said Ash

“Hunt.” nodded Haunter

Haunter created another large ball of black energy and tossed it toward the Giganang. Infernape then dashed toward the large ball of black energy and jumped into it, before the ball sudden blazed up.

"Alright they did it!“ shouted Ash

"Look’s like a Dark Blitz combination was successful." nodded Tanza

"You named them that quick." laughed Ash

"Yeah did you want to name them?" asked Tanza

"No thanks." laughed Ash

Just as the attack was about to hit the Giganang it threw it's fist forward and hit their attack sending it flying back toward Haunter. The attack hit Haunter and he was sent sliding back in front of Tanza as Infernape rolled behind Haunter.

"Oh-no Haunter please be ok!” shouted Tanza as she ran up to Haunter.

“Come on Infernape." said Ash as he ran up to Infernape.

"Ok right now its time to run." urged Tanza as she call back Haunter.

"Alright." nodded said Ash as he called back Infernape.

They all took off running toward the road when all of a sudden the larger Giganang created another blue fire ball and fired it at them. Tanza looked behind them and saw the blue fire ball quickly closing in on them.